Bergen Freeholders voted 4 to 2 to GUT the Pay to Play reform enacted just months ago. Dems David Ganz and Joan Voss and Republicans John Mitchell and John Felice apparently don't like running campaigns on IDEAS rather than ill gotten gains.
Fortunately, Current County Executive Kathleen Donovan, who was County Clerk during the infamous reign of Boss Joe, knows all too well why and exactly how Pay to Play money is bad for democracy. She is STILL sweeping out the corruption from that era.
Using her pen - she vetoed the desperately conceived plan to resuscitate the Bosses of No...

I got this email from Bergen Grassroots. I found it disturbing to say the least.
Fellow Grassrooter,

Tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 3, the Freeholders will meet in the Administrative Building in Hackensack, to consider repealing the pay-to-play reform we succeeded in getting enacted just nine months ago in December. This ordinance will be the subject of a public hearing and then considered for enactment by the Freeholders.
We must assume that the four Freeholders that voted to introduce this replacement legislation will now proceed to vote to enact it.This is a dreadfu...

One word. We can sum up the message conveniently now. In just one word. Thanks to former President Bill Clinton. He gave us not only a roadmap on how to win this election in a 45 minute "clinic". He gave it to us as a monumental message, wrapped in a huge bow. "Arithmetic."

That one word, warms my heart as an engineer. When the talking gets too loud and shouty, when it seems that all the world makes no sense, when there are "your facts" and "my facts" and false equivalency, and opinion and spin, there is still one word that slices through that Gordion knot like a hot knife through butter. A word few can argue with. It doesn't know passion, or artifice, or how to lie. Arithmetic. How did Bill Clinton oversee the most successful economy in generations? Arithmetic. What are we falling behind in as a nation because Republicans are cutting education funding? Arithmetic. What is the major flaw in the Ryan budget? It doesn't add up. Danged arithmetic again. It is the one thing Paul Ryan cannot escape. The stubborn equation that must balance at the end of the day. What caused the Bush deficit? Tax cuts, two wars and the prescription drug program not paid for. No adding on the revenue side to make up for the spending side. Arithmetic again.

In a nation of math-phobics, the Romney Ryan message is working on folks too stressed, exhausted, and math phobic to really look at the numbers.

But we all know what gets cut from somewhere must be made up for elsewhere, unless you have a magical faith-based thinking that denies how numbers work. The kind of magical thinking like - womens's bodies can magically not get pregnant from "legitimate" rape. When you assume that the world is only a few thousand years old, despite the fact that there are rocks older than that. You have to deny arithmetic. Sadly, the Republicans are getting very good at it. They are acting like many men condescendingly did for years to women like me. "Oh don't worry your pretty little head about that young lady, us big men will figure it all out for you. You aren't supposed to be good at math." Well, guess what. Our survival depends on understanding math, because we get paid 23 percent less than men for the same work. We have to pay more with less. Lilly Ledbetter did the math, and it pissed her off enough to fight.

When we let others crunch the numbers, or just SAY they did, we abdicate responsibilty. Knowledge is power and understanding the numbers is key to this election.

There is a good reason calculators appear to be as scarce on the Romney Ryan Campaign trail as fact checkers.

With aid to the poor they are relying on the loaves and fishes story where a few loaves of bread fed the masses rather than arithmetic. But right now, the math doesn't add up. The food pantry my Dad runs even though it is in a church, is running low on supplies. The Republicans think that a thousand points of light will supply the food needed. But their math doesn't add up. When they take from the middle class and poor who supply those pantries one donated canned ham at a time, they are subtracting from what should be available to feed the hungry. They ignore the math.

When they try to say that tax cuts for the wealthy won't add to the deficit, they are either lying or they are terrible at math. Based on their utter disdain for education and science, it is may be the latter. Which is why we can't hand these guys the country's checkbook again. We just can't. We already got downgraded because investors around the globe thought we would not pay the check we already rang up last year. A simple understanding of the math would have prevented that debacle.

HOWEVER, I would give the Republicans the benefit of the doubt if not for one thing. Voter Suppression. They understand arithmetic enough to know who they have to keep away from the polls. They are trying to use math to deny President Obama a second term at the same time they deny arithmetic when it comes to dollars.

The thing is, the math is on OUR side. We outnumber them as voters. We have the gender gap, the Latino gap, the Native American gap, the LGBT gap, the student gap, and the ENTHUSIASM gap, which was evident tonite as Dems enthusiastically threw their support behind our President. They may have more money, but we have more volunteer boots on the ground.

Arithmetic. We should not be math phobic any longer. As Bill Clinton pointed out so elegantly tonite, Arithmetic saved our economy before, and it will re-elect President Obama and save our economy again. Especially when we add up all those Democratic votes.

On the eve of Hurricane Isaac, I want to give Blue Jersey folks a poignant reminder of what this election is about. As a Christian, educated by nuns for 12 years of my life, I have a pretty good idea of why the Nuns on the Bus are so upset about Paul Ryan's budget. The thought of Paul Ryan in the White House a heartbeat away from the Presidency is a chilling one. His friends in the House of Representatives, including one E. Scott Garrett - my own Congressman, are Social Darwinists, who believe in Survival of the Fittest at the same time they close their minds to the science of evolution. They are good at denying the existence of something while causing it to happen. Like Global Warming.

But the stakes in this election could not be higher. We need to bring our A Game this election season. Here is why. Too many people are counting on us. We, who have voices, and pens, and keyboards, and I-Pads, and Twitter, and Facebook, and Blue Jersey, need to speak up. We need to give voice to the voiceless. There are people out there suffering. People who won't be able to vote, because they may not have permanent addresses, or voter ids, or a reason to care anymore. People who may have given up.

Sometimes it seems overwhelming, how many folks have slipped through the cracks into poverty. We become numb to the sheer numbers of people who need our help because how can we possibly ever help them all? We are a country who immerses ourselves in our own little worlds with our personal earbuds to tune out the world and carve out our own little Zen space in the craziness. We medicate our uneasiness away and try to make ourselves comfortable in our own heads by eliminating any personal discomfort for ourselves. The kind of discomfort with the way things are that might actually get us off the couch to help our fellow human beings. We try so hard these days not to feel normal human emotions anymore.

We have to not look away.

We need to face what our country has actually become, and we need to put it back on course. We need to make our politicians see that we really do want them to care about people other than ourselves. That cutting Medicaid is immoral. That cutting unemployment benefits hurts children. That we have a growing homeless problem in a country choked with foreclosed homes.

Last year, I was asked to sing a demo of a song written by a relative of mine who grew up in Jersey City, and who, as a boy, had run away from home. The lyrics of the song so moved me, I could not bring myself to even sing it without breaking down right in the middle of it. It took me a full week before I could sing it without weeping. Even talking about it makes me choke up. It so sums up the reality of life for too many people in the United States today. It is about two homeless girls. The song was inspired by Hurricane Irene, when Tom Thiel was looking out the window and wondering where the birds go when a hurricane hits. Around the same time, he came across a photo of graffiti under an overpass that prompted the first lines of the song. His own experience as a teen runaway helped him fill in the rest.

We recorded it in Ridgewood right around the time of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. I hope it moves you as much as it still moves me. There are vulnerable people out there every day. People who need our help and who will be very much affected by what happens in this election. Please give a voice to the voiceless and get involved any way you can.

Here is why we need to invest in infrastructure. Once again, during the height of boating season and swimming season, problems with New York's sewage infrastructure has caused raw sewage to enter the Hudson.

Having a reputation for a sewage filled river, is not going to be very good for business along the shoreline. Nice going, New York. Way to invite international competitors to the Tristate area.

I was down by the river yesterday. On a boat. NO clue that they had poisoned the river again. There were probably jet skiers who had no clue either.

Any legislators out there who want to make NY pay for the impact this has on NJ? This is getting to be too regular an event, and now it has just become an international embarrassment. New Orleans had its oil spill, we have this. Every darn year. Sometimes several times a year. Disgraceful.

I am so excited folks can now view this easily online. It depicts the creation of the Palisades Interstate Park in 1900 and then shows video taken throughout the beginning of the 20th century, through the Great Depression and World War II. The video is only a half hour long but has incredible video of people using the parks and is a nostalgic look back at exactly how the New Deal affected us here in New Jersey in positive ways. For the past ten years people have been buying the video and giving it as gifts. Now folks can share it for free.

This week, the Iron Man competition comes to NJ and the participants will be again swimming in the Hudson just offshore from where this film was taken 80 years ago. They also will be running and bicycling through the 112 year old park. The first Interstate Park in the United States. It is fitting that the Ironman event is being held in both NY and NJ, because both states had a hand in creating this beautiful park.

Many folks not familiar with our neck of the woods in NJ will be introduced to it for the very first time thanks to the Ironman competition. We should be proud of this National landmark. It is a model of conservation we have protected for over a century in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Just a stone's throw from Manhattan. In cynical time when we rail about what government gets wrong, we can celebrate something our State Legislature, and our Federal Government got totally, blissfully right.

I hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed making it. And I'd like to wish all the competitors who are coming this Saturday to NJ for the Ironman, the best of luck in their efforts! Here is more information about the video and the text of the introduction I made at the premier of the video in October, 2001 called "Meeting the Reel Ghosts".

P.S. When you see the video, there is an extra little film clip after the credits of a lifesaving demonstration filmed in the 1940's. This was prior to modern CPR, so it is a fascinating little history lesson as well and just plain fun.

The official Record article from today credits the local residents who spoke up with being the force that stopped the ill-conceived and under-funded project from going through against the wishes of the public.

I am really proud to know these folks. They have been TIRELESS since last November when this plan was hatched. They have come to every meeting against what seemed like impossible odds, and even when the building was delivered to the site - they kept going to meetings. Even when the trees were cut, they kept coming to meetings. Even when their cars were keyed, they still came to meetings. Even when they got threats and intimidation, they still came, wrote letters, and spoke up.

I am proud to be from Bergenfield. For these folks who opposed the project - most of them had actually been volunteers for the PAL and some still are, it was difficult for them. This debate pit them against an organization they still believe in. It will take a while to heal the rift, as you can tell from the heated comments in the article.

The PAL leaders may never understand that these residents saved them from a years long financial debacle, but that is what happened. It wasn't about personalities or vendettas. It was about flooding. It was about acting without public input. It was about trees. And most of all, in the end, it was about money.

At the meeting last night, the Community Center Gym project was pulled by the PAL who decided to back out based on the mounting public opposition to a project that would have cost the Borough $1.9 million when they had only $261,000 budgeted for it.

The opponents of the project had to sit though a half hour screed by the PAL who appeared to be trying to get the Council to save the project.

Thanks to Nick Lento, blogger, activist, and video journalist, I was actually able to get a YouTube video of just what is going on in Bergenfield regarding the My Lorax Moment diaries.

Here is the video of the meeting where The Mayor finally discusses the unavoidable fact that they don't have the money to build the Gym. (I hate to say I told them so, but there it is):

Watch how the Mayor wants to avoid the pesky bidding laws and get an "unofficial" quote for a 1/3 acre building foundation that will cost over $350 k. Mind you, there is NO money set aside to actually erect the steel frame ON the foundation or even finish the inside. This thing will be like watch you get from a street hustler. Nothing inside.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... But wait - it gets more interesting. Here is the public comments section where you get to see the Mayor in action playing the Mitt Romney game of "victim" and demanding apologies from everyone.

I am told his antics are hilarious by some folks. I don't actually have the stomach to look at them - since I lived them, as you will see.

First he attacks Donna Flannery who is polite to a fault, for writing a letter to the local paper mentioning that he approved $300,000 without explaining to the public what they were getting for the money, and then he goes after me.

For anyone interested in seeing the The Real Mayors of NJ show for real, the next meeting is at 7 pm on July 24. It would be entertaining if the folks begging for the right to speak weren't suffering flooding at the hands of the Mayor's friends.

As a postscript, The Mayor's friend, Robert "the Onceler" Gilman, who ordered the trees cut for the whole project BEFORE the Green Acres Public hearing, was just unanimously found by the ethics board to need a hearing regarding his transgressions in regards to this whole project.

The Democrats' plan aims to give property tax relief to 95% of the taxpayers in NJ with incomes below $250,000 instead of giving 50% of the tax cut to those in the top 5% - which is Christie's plan.

The website is accessible and interactive. There is a tax savings calculator and you can click on the maps and see exactly what your numbers will be for your municipality.

It explains quite a bit in plain English and starkly draws the contrast between Christie's plan which is a windfall for Romney's ilk, and and the Democrats' plan which helps ordinary NJ taxpayers. You can also read the newspaper articles about both plans.

Please share this website with everyone and anyone you know in NJ who pays taxes - which is pretty much everyone.

This one is not complicated. We need to support the Democratic plan for the budget. Please call your NJ state legislators THIS WEEK.

Another update on my Lorax story. Bergenfield is getting more interesting by the minute. Now I understand the Chinese curse - "May you live in interesting times."

At this moment, residents who have been writing letters in the newspaper opposing the destruction of Whittaker Park by the PAL under the direction of Councilman Gillman, have been subject to "visits" from the police department and also threatening phone calls. Fortunately, us Bergenfield types don't scare easy. Phil Stark - a retired construction worker who knows building codes and who has come to council meetings and written letters in opposition to the PAL project was "visited" by policemen to intimidate him into keeping quiet. The two residents against the project Norman Schmelz and John Smith who are running for office in town have been getting threats also.

The first few meetings the town historian came out in opposition because it was too close to a historic cemetary. Rumor has it that that historian was threatened with not getting money for another site in town if he spoke up against the project again.

Like I said - good folks being threatened to keep them silent.

The Mayor - Tim Driscoll who I have written about in the past favorably, just lost all my respect in this whole story. I know he was the victim of forgery during the Weinberg Zisa fight, but because he believes all the opposition to this project was something cooked up by his nemesis Kevin Clancy, he thinks Gillman - who is the villain in this particular story - is the victim.

I am sorry. but I was there 7 years ago. I know what went down because I blogged the whole sordid tale, and this PAL project has absolutely NOTHING to do with the forgery story.

The fact is Clancy used the negative publicity against Gillman only after MONTHS of Gillman being hammered by average citizens - including me. I was at EVERY council meeting. Every single one.

To complicate the story to the detriment of the honest folks who were rightly outraged that Gillman ordered Green Acres land destroyed and trees cut before a public hearing to rezone it, Clancy's wife Elaine Rabbitt just filed another lawsuit related to the forgery trial against Driscoll and Gillman.

Clancy has also filed ethics complaints and a criminal complaint against Gillman for good measure based on a lot of this - which may be revenge for Gillman's wife testifying against Rabbitt, but may have some merit, based on the use of Borough Employees to do the bidding of the PAL before the tree cutting was approved by the Council.

So now Driscoll really thinks this was all Clancy's doing to stir up the pot.

Last time I checked, Clancy wasn't head of the PAL and did not give the order to cut the trees down.

If Clancy - the Democratic Municipal Chair who hates Gillman did not use the debacle for political advantage when half the town was coming to every meeting (and would have brought pitchforks with them if they could have) against his nemesis, it would have been political malpractice.

The problem is the newspaper is conflating the two storylines now. Gillman's wife may have been the victim 7 years ago and the lawsuit against her now may be frivolous - but Councilman Gillman violated the flood hazard act and violated residents civil rights and they are pissed off about it.

Being a victim 7 years ago, does not make you above the law now. However, the Mayor apparently feels that is does. He has such an affection for Gillman that it is clouding his judgement regarding Gillman. I also get the feeling he doesn't care at all about trees or flooding.

Now the Mayor and his supporters in town are blaming ME for Gillman losing the primary by 11 votes. He just demanded a recount. Councilman Lodato - his running mate who showed some actual class and compassion for the residents near Whittaker Park won with the most votes. Which should tell you it had nothing to do with me or Clancy - who put up two challengers. It had to do with Councilman Gillman's own actions that he needs to take responsiblity for.

At the last council meeting I brought up this chart: http://www.reedconstructiondat... Gillman got very defensive and starting putting down both me and my uncle who basically told them that based on the actual estimates of cost to build by the standard used in the construction industry - they only budgeted less than $20 per square foot for the building. If you look at my chart - a 2 story building in the NY area costs $231 per sf. That means that the PAL has less than ONE TENTH the money they need to build what they expect to build. And Gillman was ready to break ground. The PAL and the Community Center Building Committee have been telling the town that this building will not cost the taxpayers anything. The fact is the building will be 15,000 sf and the town will pay the utility costs in addition - probably the cost to finish it too.

Gillman's head about exploded when I handed out a copy of the chart to every Councilmember with the $231 figure circled in red. The Mayor and Gillman then proceeded to make it seem as if I pulled the number out of thin air. The timing was amazing. The first comments Councilman Lodato made at the meeting before I pulled out my chart (made into a show and tell 24 x 36 poster) was that he wanted to see the numbers. How much was this all going to cost - and Gillman had no numbers to give him. Which is why Gillman freaked out and started really being a bully when my uncle the architect who knows construction (he was Vice President of Design for Hartz Mountain) started rattling off the exact costs for the amount of concrete needed. Gillman then started to belittle my uncle and his experience - telling him he knew who he was he didn't have to start throwing around his credentials again. My uncle also started to explain the types of heavy duty construction equipment needed to erect the thing. This was no dads with beers and a little plumbing know-how weekend project. You needed actual trained contractors to construct this thing.

If Mayor Driscoll had good intentions and good will when he took office to clean up politics in Bergenfield, he has now become a player just like his nemesis Kevin Clancy, and only to protect his friend Robert Gillman, who may have been a good guy once apon a time but is now despised by a goodly chuck of the electorate in Bergenfield and a kid who grew up there - me. I find that incredibly sad.

His running mate happened to win - which means that voters in Bergenfield are savvy enough to know that Councilman Lodato is a class act, while his running mate was only representing his organization - the PAL rather than the rank and file mere Bergenfield citizen.

There is a council meeting tonite. I plan on being there with my folks - just like I have been for the past few months - with dozens of other angry residents - long before Clancy even made a peep about this or used it for his own ends.

The biggest disappointment was the Mayor, who let this whole thing unfold because Gillman is his Golden Boy who could do no wrong - even when he cut down trees on Green Acres land BEFORE the public hearing. The Mayor tried to cover for him and completely lost all my respect. He could have saved Gillman from himself and those trees, and the creek and the flooded residents, but he chose loyalty - which makes him no better than Clancy.

Below is an exact timeline of the chain of events that led to the BCDC effectively preventing a fair and open convention where the Committee members of the 5th would have had an actual choice between Adam Gussen and Jastle Castle: BCDC Signature Timeline

2/7/2012 - Jason Castle emails Lou Stellato declaring his intention to run in the 5th district-The email included background information about Jason, his motivations for running and a request for any information needed to run.

2/13/2012 - Bergen Democrats Responds-Adam Silverstein contacts Jason Castle to discuss candidacy. During that conversation Jason Castle was first informed of convention application and mandatory 30 committee member signatures. Immediately following conversation, Jason Castle dispatched Will Watts to pick up application and list of committee members from BCDC Headquarters.

2/13/2012-Will Watts Picks up Application For Convention-Will Watts meets with Ron Subramanian. They review the application and requests the County Committee List. Will is told that the list is not available in the office but will be sent to him shortly.

2/15/2012 - First Written Request For County Committee List-Will Watt emailed Ron Subramanian with the first written request for the County Committee List.

2/15/2012-Ron Subramanian Responds-Subramanian states that the County Committee List will be sent to the Castle Campaign the next day.

2/16/2012-2/20/2012 - Follow Up-Watts contacts Subramanian frequently during this period through phone and email. Throughout this process it was consistently and repeatedly stated that the County Committee List would be available the following day.

2/23/2012 - Campaign asks for Extension - On the basis of the delay receiving the list, Watts contacts Chairman Stellato and requests an extension for the Castle Campaign's paperwork. Chairman Stellato refuses the request.

2/24/2012-2/25/2012-Turning in Petition-As the campaign tried to turn in the petition it confronted several more issues. • 5:30-Will Watts speaks with Ron Subramanian who stated the forms could be dropped at his house because of the hour. • 6:30-Jason Castle called Subramanian and stated that the forms were prepared but he was looking to find a notary. Subramanian stated that the forms could be dropped off on Saturday at his home • At no time during either of these conversations did Subramanian say, either implicitly or explicitly, that either of these actions would invalidate the petition.

2/28/2012-Appeal Meeting-Jason Castle and Will Watts sit down Chairman Stellato to review the events that led up to the deadline and appeal the decision. Chairman Stellato states that the reason for the delay was that Municipal Chairs had not submitted their County Committee Members to the Party. At no time prior to meeting had this issue been mentioned.

3/1/2012-Final Appeal-Letter sent to Lou Stellato once again overviewing the timeline of events, exigent circumstances and the reasons for granting an appeal this case. There was no response.

The BCDC acted in bad faith. Plain and simple. Jason won Sussex and Warren conventions, but was PREVENTED from winning in Bergen. There are emails and phone records to prove it. The voters of Bergen lose again and because of that - so do the many voters of Sussex and Warren who overwhelmingly chose Castle.

They are basically stating that Castle would be a clean break from the BCDO machine, which Gussen represents. They said it a lot nicer than I would have, but the truth is - Gussen represents the old BCDO that most Bergen voters have had enough of. Gussen was helped and installed as a candidate in a non-partisan town by the Ferriero-wing of the BCDO, which has a new trial or conviction, or sentencing or allegation practically every week - which the Record has had to cover for the past 7 years.

They did not accuse Gussen of wrongdoing, but like my Mom always told me - choose your friends wisely. You may be judged by the company you keep - especially if they keep winding up in jail. As for Jason - regardless of why you would want to avoid the machine candidate, Jason has distinguished himself admirably in his young career, and is an incredibly bright, and upstanding man who would be a breath of fresh air in a Congress currently weighted down with anger, animosity, and inaction.

Castle sees the possibilities of a better future and a way forward - which is the direction we all want to be headed when we approach the November elections.

They are basically stating that Castle would be a clean break from the BCDO machine, which Gussen represents. They said it a lot nicer than I would have, but the truth is - Gussen represents the old BCDO that most Bergen voters have had enough of. Gussen was helped and installed as a candidate in a non-partisan town by the Ferriero-wing of the BCDO, which has a new trial or conviction, or sentencing or allegation practically every week - which the Record has had to cover for the past 7 years.

They did not accuse Gussen of wrongdoing, but like my Mom always told me - choose your friends wisely. You may be judged by the company you keep - especially if they keep winding up in jail. As for Jason - regardless of why you would want to avoid the machine candidate, Jason has distinguished himself admirably in his young career, and is an incredibly bright, and upstanding man who would be a breath of fresh air in a Congress currently weighted down with anger, animosity, and inaction.

Castle sees the possibilities of a better future and a way forward - which is the direction we all want to be headed when we approach the November elections.

They are basically stating that Castle would be a clean break from the BCDO machine, which Gussen represents. They said it a lot nicer than I would have, but the truth is - Gussen represents the old BCDO that most Bergen voters have had enough of. Gussen was helped and installed as a candidate in a non-partisan town by the Ferriero-wing of the BCDO, which has a new trial or conviction, or sentencing or allegation practically every week - which the Record has had to cover for the past 7 years.

They did not accuse Gussen of wrongdoing, but like my Mom always told me - choose your friends wisely. You may be judged by the company you keep - especially if they keep winding up in jail. As for Jason - regardless of why you would want to avoid the machine candidate, Jason has distinguished himself admirably in his young career, and is an incredibly bright, and upstanding man who would be a breath of fresh air in a Congress currently weighted down with anger, animosity, and inaction.

Castle sees the possibilities of a better future and a way forward - which is the direction we all want to be headed when we approach the November elections.

The other night I was watching MSNBC and I was struck watching Civil Rights icon and Georgia Congressman John Lewis use all his considerable credibility and emotional weight to shame a fellow Republican into withdrawing an amendment from the floor that would have suppressed voting rights.

I felt that old familiar anger rise up in me. I feel it whenever I see yet another blatant attack on voting rights. It reminds me of when someone tried to do it to me. When I was a duly elected County Committee member and I was almost prevented from casting a vote for NJ Asssembly candidate Valerie Vaineiri Huttle by a Bergen County Committee Staffer who dared challenge me. I was angry because that Republican Senator tried to once again steal another election from thousands upon thousands of US citizens.

Thankfully, John Lewis reminded that Senator that he knew friends who had DIED trying to vote. He had his own blood spilled himself. That shamed the would-be Republican election thief into withdrawing his abomination of an amendment. I remember how angry I was that someone had tried to steal my vote away from me. I remembered how I felt knowing that Elizabeth Cady Stanton had lived in my town of Tenafly and had tried to vote right there in the center of my town. I remembered how much that very anger drove me to become a blogger right here on Blue Jersey. I fought that day in Hackensack, I got there first in line and stayed to be a witness, and even shouted to get not only my vote counted, but the votes counted of all the African American County Committee members in Teaneck - who I watched being challenged the minute they walked in the door. Our uproar prevented another stolen election. That is how the BCDO used to operate - which is why they changed the name to BCDC in the hopes folks would forget that although they changed the Captain - the same crew is still running the ship.

I am extremely unhappy to report that the reason I feel that old familiar anger boiling up inside me today is that the BCDC apparently actively prevented candidate Jason Castle from participating in the Bergen County Committee Convention. I received a letter today that was sent to the Chairman Lou Stellato and the entire CD5 membership of the County Committee that describes the underhanded way in which the nomination was just handed to FOJ (Friend of Joe) Adam Gussen of Teaneck.

I will include the text of it here:

REGINA DUNPHY O'NEILL

MAY 22, 2012

Chairman Lou Stellato

BCDC

Dear Chairman:

Jason Castle is my choice for Congress in District 5. To say I'm impressed with him is to put it mildly. His positions on the Afghan war, Marriage Equality, and education are a perfect contrast to Scott Garret's record. In addition, Jason is a former Marine who served our country in Iraq. Jason is a great candidate; he makes the Bergen Dems look good!

In my opinion your hand-picked candidate, Adam Gussen is a very poor choice for our party. I have seen this guy in action. He acts like a bully, especially towards women. He makes Chris Christie look like a pussy cat. As far as his positions concerning the voters, he did not show up for the first debate and he has no website. So who knows!

I am not surprised that you manipulated the democratic process with your decision to keep Jason out of the convention. It's very similar to the way you ran the legislative caucuses last year. Some of the legislative candidates were required to adhere to the convention process and your hand picked candidates got a pass on that process.

I believe you purposely held back the delegate list from Mr. Castle until 3 days before the convention knowing he needed it to get his petition signed by those same delegates.

He completed the requirements to run at the convention. When he called to say he was going to drop off the signed petition at headquarters he was told to bring them to Ron's house the next day. Jason reminded Ron that that would be past the deadline; Ron insisted it was not a problem.

On Sunday I hosted a meet and greet for Jason. A great success; Jason was able to win over all those in attendance. Some of my guests had received an e-mail discouraging them from supporting Jason because he didn't go thru the convention process; a "fact" that had been confirmed by none other than the BCDC. "Your people" in Maywood and throughout Dist. 5 are busily spreading around your party line.

Nice try Lou! First you stomp all over the democratic process and then you get your "party puppets" to convince the voters that the candidates you blackballed did something wrong. I don't think it will work this time.

Lou, you do understand that these corrupt policies take away the rights of all county committee people! In turn, your decision disenfranchised thousands upon thousands of voters represented by those same county committee members. It is their responsibility to research the candidates and then vote for the candidate who will best serve their constituents.

In the past, Joe Ferriero desecrated the democratic process over and over again. And know I see you are doing the same thing. I'll ask you the same question I asked Joe; what are you afraid of?

As for Jason Castle, I'm not worried. I believe he has the courage and integrity to move our party forward.

Sincerely,

Regina Dunphy O'neill

CC: DIST 5 COUNTY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Now in order to understand what happened, you need to know why the old Ferriero supporters would want to rig the election in favor of Adam Gussen. Adam was a candidate supported by Joe Ferriero to weaken Loretta Weinberg's supporters in Teaneck.

I know it is a few years later, but the same characters are still in power at the BCDC - like the BCDC staffer and Joe Ferriero supporter Ron Subramaniam who told Mr. Castle to hand his papers in a day late even though he had them ready in time. It is an ugly ugly political scene in Teaneck these days, and the efforts to prevent Castle from participating in the convention stole the votes of hundreds of County Committee members who wanted to vote for Mr. Castle. They are angry. My other BCDC sources tell me that not only did the BCDC withhold the list until only 3 days before the deadline, but when Castle's campaign got the list - it had no phone numbers on it. They had to literally look up hundreds of phone numbers themselves to get those signatures in time. Which they managed to do only to be prevented from delivering them by BCDC staffer Subramaniam.

In one sweet bit of poetic justic, Jason Castle still won the first column in Bergen County, and also won the party line in Counties where he was not PREVENTED from being on the ballot. Because of that, the BCDC folks who prevented a fair election at the Bergen County Committee are trying to intimidate County Committee members from openly showing their support for Jason Castle. I have already had to refute misinformation being spread to Democrats in Teaneck by Gussen's allies.

I was asked to blog this by County Committee members infuriated by being deprived of their voting rights and afraid to speak out publicly about this terrible systemic cancer still embedded inside the BCDC. That anger I feel is shared by at least 100 county committee members who dared to sign Jason's petition in good faith. I wonder if those County Committee members will find THEMSELVES thrown off the line in the next election like I was a few years back for daring to support, the HONEST candidate and now our Senate Majority Leader, Loretta Weinberg, rather than the recently convicted and hand-picked Ferriero candidate named (Charles "Ken" Zisa). I think there should be a full investigation into candidate suppression and the alleged illegal rigging of the 2012 Bergen County Democratic Committee Convention. God knows it wouldn't be the first time the Bergen County Democratic Committee forgot how to hold an honest election.